The SafetyLine Check-in: 2025 Winter Edition

Welcome to the SafetyLine Check-in, a monthly LinkedIn newsletter that provides timely news and updates on lone and remote workers' health and safety, as well as exclusive insight into emerging occupational safety trends and developments.?

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Silent Risks: The True Hazards of Working Alone in the Winter?

Happy New Year, and welcome to our SafetyLine Check-in Winter 2025 edition, which is about addressing the elevated and intricate occupational hazards that lone workers – and all employees – face during the winter. Instead of focusing on the usual winter work hazards like slips and falls, cold stress, frostbite, and hypothermia – which are still very important – we want to look at the silent, hidden occupational risks that may not be so visible or evident initially.? ?

Cold temperatures and slippery surfaces can be hazardous, but these hazards can be easily assessed and identified because they are so visible or tactile. However, some hazards cannot be seen or felt and are just as high-risk for people working alone outside—or inside—during the winter months.? ?

Carbon monoxide in enclosed or confined spaces: Lone workers performing jobs or warming up in work vehicles and poorly ventilated spaces may inadvertently expose themselves to toxic fumes, a silent and deadly risk during cold weather. An average of 22 workers dies annually in the U.S. from CO poisoning, with incidents peaking during winter months.??

Dehydration in cold environments: Unlike the summer heat, the cold suppresses thirst, leading lone workers to underestimate their need for hydration. Dehydration at work can impair judgment, reaction time, and physical endurance. Researchers found that 26–47% of workers are dehydrated during winter, based on urine color analysis.??

Isolation-related stress and fatigue: The combination of long, dark hours with solitude can lead to emotional fatigue, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and poor decision-making. This psychological stress is a subtle but dangerous hazard unique to lone workers during winter.?

Work risks like emotional stress and isolation are challenging to assess but can be identified through hazard assessments and safety meetings with lone workers and team members. Likewise, for carbon monoxide and toxic gas hazards, thorough hazard assessments of the work environments should be performed to identify these dangers. Dehydration is particularly hazardous for lone workers because they do not have coworkers to remind them to take breaks and drink water or fluids; lone workers need to be reminded or have scheduled breaks to hydrate and drink non-caffeinated fluids like water, tea, and soup.? ?

While daunting and intimidating, the concealed dangers of our work environments can be managed through planning and overall awareness of the new challenges that working alone in cold weather presents. Awareness of these invisible dangers is the first step to ensuring lone workers remain safe while performing their jobs alone in the cold.?

From the SafetyLine Website and Blog?

The Official Lone Worker's Guide to Working in Winter Weather?

Winter work brings unique hazards for lone workers, from hypothermia to isolation. This article highlights the essential safety strategies for staying warm, avoiding frostbite, and tackling winter’s toughest challenges. Learn how to prepare your workers, ensure proper communication, and confidently embrace the season. Stay safe and stay prepared.?

Learn about the six critical areas of lone worker safety in the winter.?

Incorporating Fall Protection as the Weather gets Colder?

As temperatures drop and winter hazards rise, slip-and-fall accidents become more common and dangerous. This article explores how employers can protect their teams with proactive fall safety measures, from using proper PPE to implementing fall detection technology.? ?

Reduce fall risks and keep your workplace safe all winter.?

In the News??

What Winter Work Hazards Do I Need to Be Worried About? – OH&S???

Winter work can be dangerous not only due to the slippery conditions and low temperatures. These conditions can both directly and indirectly create unknown safety hazards that are very dangerous when not properly addressed by the employer and employees.??

Read about these winter work hazards and how you can prevent them.?

Effective Use of Mobile Apps & Technology in Winter – Industrial Hygiene??

Winter conditions change how we work. If not, they should—or, at the very least, impact how managers and workers prepare for and adjust to the changing temperatures and weather.??

This impact is felt everywhere in the workplace: from the employees’ mental and physical health to the equipment including mobile apps that provide a wide range of important functions and purposes, including weather and navigation.??

Take steps to reduce the risk of winter weather impacting mobile apps your workers rely on.?

Did You See This??

Here’s some of the top work safety-related news you might have missed over the past month.?

• ASSP Revises Standards for Safety Training and Hazardous Energy Control – OH&S??
• Health care workers five times more likely to face workplace violence - MSN?
• Decrease in Workplace Fatalities Encouraging – More Must Be Done to Improve Workplace Safety – The HIPPA Journal?
• Senate report alleges Amazon rejected warehouse safety recommendations due to productivity concerns - AP?
• BLS: On-the-job deaths fell nearly 4% in 2023 – Safety + Health Magazine?

Occupational health and safety is constantly evolving. Subscribe to the SafetyLine Check-in to stay updated on current and future news and trends in lone worker safety.?

If you have inquiries about workplace and lone worker safety, you can book a time with one of our experienced safety professionals, you can book a time with one of our experienced safety professionals.?